Jacquelyn
Southbridge,#2UPDATE Employee
Tue, June 28, 2005
I have heard all the comments about Primerica. What I don't understand is that everyone main complaint is Primerica made them pay 199.00 for l license fee. What is the big deal if you make it in the company you will make your 199.00 back. If you fail then you lost 199.00. I spent over 45,000 dollars on a college degree that did not guarantee me a job. As a matter of fact I even went on for my master's in the field in the attempt to find a job that would even allow me to pay back my student loans. I had to pay for all my books, I hade to pay for my license to be a social worker. No one ever paid me back for any of that. Insted the state laid half of MA Social Workers off. We also had a case load to big for us to actually care about our clients. I went to college to help people not to put them on the back burner. Most of the people Primerica rep's see are people who do not even have life insurance or have any idea about it. So what is wrong about providing them with that service. You do not care about the people Primerica helps. If you did you main complaints would be about the life insurance. However, you complaints are about the 199.00 dollars you had to pay. Or how you failed at attempting to recruit people. Please Note: Primerica was one of the first LIFE INSURANCE companies to payout to the for the victims of September 11. Educate yourself and maybe next time you will suceed.
Jacquelyn
Southbridge,#3UPDATE Employee
Tue, June 28, 2005
I have heard all the comments about Primerica. What I don't understand is that everyone main complaint is Primerica made them pay 199.00 for l license fee. What is the big deal if you make it in the company you will make your 199.00 back. If you fail then you lost 199.00. I spent over 45,000 dollars on a college degree that did not guarantee me a job. As a matter of fact I even went on for my master's in the field in the attempt to find a job that would even allow me to pay back my student loans. I had to pay for all my books, I hade to pay for my license to be a social worker. No one ever paid me back for any of that. Insted the state laid half of MA Social Workers off. We also had a case load to big for us to actually care about our clients. I went to college to help people not to put them on the back burner. Most of the people Primerica rep's see are people who do not even have life insurance or have any idea about it. So what is wrong about providing them with that service. You do not care about the people Primerica helps. If you did you main complaints would be about the life insurance. However, you complaints are about the 199.00 dollars you had to pay. Or how you failed at attempting to recruit people. Please Note: Primerica was one of the first LIFE INSURANCE companies to payout to the for the victims of September 11. Educate yourself and maybe next time you will suceed.
Jacquelyn
Southbridge,#4UPDATE Employee
Tue, June 28, 2005
I have heard all the comments about Primerica. What I don't understand is that everyone main complaint is Primerica made them pay 199.00 for l license fee. What is the big deal if you make it in the company you will make your 199.00 back. If you fail then you lost 199.00. I spent over 45,000 dollars on a college degree that did not guarantee me a job. As a matter of fact I even went on for my master's in the field in the attempt to find a job that would even allow me to pay back my student loans. I had to pay for all my books, I hade to pay for my license to be a social worker. No one ever paid me back for any of that. Insted the state laid half of MA Social Workers off. We also had a case load to big for us to actually care about our clients. I went to college to help people not to put them on the back burner. Most of the people Primerica rep's see are people who do not even have life insurance or have any idea about it. So what is wrong about providing them with that service. You do not care about the people Primerica helps. If you did you main complaints would be about the life insurance. However, you complaints are about the 199.00 dollars you had to pay. Or how you failed at attempting to recruit people. Please Note: Primerica was one of the first LIFE INSURANCE companies to payout to the for the victims of September 11. Educate yourself and maybe next time you will suceed.
Jacquelyn
Southbridge,#5UPDATE Employee
Tue, June 28, 2005
I have heard all the comments about Primerica. What I don't understand is that everyone main complaint is Primerica made them pay 199.00 for l license fee. What is the big deal if you make it in the company you will make your 199.00 back. If you fail then you lost 199.00. I spent over 45,000 dollars on a college degree that did not guarantee me a job. As a matter of fact I even went on for my master's in the field in the attempt to find a job that would even allow me to pay back my student loans. I had to pay for all my books, I hade to pay for my license to be a social worker. No one ever paid me back for any of that. Insted the state laid half of MA Social Workers off. We also had a case load to big for us to actually care about our clients. I went to college to help people not to put them on the back burner. Most of the people Primerica rep's see are people who do not even have life insurance or have any idea about it. So what is wrong about providing them with that service. You do not care about the people Primerica helps. If you did you main complaints would be about the life insurance. However, you complaints are about the 199.00 dollars you had to pay. Or how you failed at attempting to recruit people. Please Note: Primerica was one of the first LIFE INSURANCE companies to payout to the for the victims of September 11. Educate yourself and maybe next time you will suceed.
Dawn
Virginia Beach,#6Consumer Comment
Mon, June 27, 2005
One of my closest friends is a representative for Primerica. I've known her for over 20 years and she is a different person since her involvement with PFS. She asked my husband and I to attend a meeting. After the meeting, she wanted our opinions. We were both skeptical and told her so. She came by our house and dropped off a tape for us to listen to. I didn't even take the wrapping off it because I had no interest in getting involved. It's been over a year now and I am at a point where avoidance seems the only way to deal with her. My husband and I have no debt besides our home. We have a business that we run on the side and really are not looking for the "smart loan" she's told us about. She is going for her "security" license and would like me to invest with her. She doesn't take no for an answer and I'm at my wit's end on how to handle this. She never calls to see how anyone is, or just have a normal conversation. Every word out of her mouth leads to PFS. And the "I just helped another family" line drives me crazy. It appears that her branch of PFS targets lower middle class people that aren't educated at all in finance. She's even given classes at a rec center to children on how to manage money and sent PFS material home for their parents. It doesn't seem ethical. If their services are so good, why do they need to chase people down in the local grocery stores and rec centers? My only hope is that she sees the "light" the way you have. Your post has given me hope that she'll also see how totally consumed she's become. I'd like to find my "old" freind again:(
Paul
Anaheim,#7Consumer Suggestion
Sun, June 26, 2005
You know, I usually skip over long comments like yours. Especially when they involve primerica. The idiots from the company get going on long, drawn out diatribes that result in little, if any, intelligent discourse. Typically, it's the same old term vs. whole life comparison. But, in your case, after I began reading, I was simply amazed at your comprehension of the whole primerica culture. Your ability to define and assess the situation was simply astounding. Few people in society as a whole today have the insight to even understand the concepts as well as you. An even smaller subset can translate those concepts into meaningful explanations. You managed to accomplish both. As I continued reading your comment, I was overwhelmed by one nagging question. How in the hell could the idiots at primerica ever attract or retain someone with this degree of intelligence? Suffice to say, you are the only one in the whole company that has any brains. The rest of the agents are these dumb f**ks who can't even spell annuity, much less define it or explain its intended goal. They will never realize they're in a sinking ship. You know, I don't mind if only the stupid get taken by primerica. They belong there. Show me any other company that would even entertain the remote possibility of hiring them. Not possible. But, when I see intelligent people getting sucked into the whole primerica scam, I'm disheartened to see them being taken advantaged like that. As I reflected on your analysis, one explanation gradually came into focus. It's your personality that kept you there for so long. You appear to be a kind, gentle person who accepts the shortcomings of others. You don't focus on people's faults. Rather, you appear to recognize them, but choose instead to focus on positive traits in others. You are the exact, polar opposite of someone like me. For example, you hold citigroup in high esteem. I look at the correlation between citi and significant events like the worldcom and enron scams. Citi went in and engineered both of those events. In one fell swoop, they undid any possible good that the whole of primerica has done since its inception. Citi is a trash company. Had it been their building on 9/11, Osama would be widely recognized as a hero, instead of a plague. You describe yourself as intensely motivated and committed. Yet, you were unable to support your family. That one admission, alone, demonstrates beyond reproach that primerica simply has a defective business model. When an intelligent, highly motivated individual such as yourself still cannot succeed, it can only lead to one conclusion. It's simply not possible to succeed with primerica. Their business model simply doesn't work. The primary failure was not yours, but the company's. You simply failed to acknowledge that. Again, you looked at the positive instead of reality. Successful people don't need to talk incessantly about sacrifice and never giving up. Why? Because they don't face a continual stream of failures. By its very definition, success is not having to spend long hours depriving yourself of time with your family and loved ones. Successful people end up with rewards to show for all the time they put into something. But, to spend all your time working, and still not have much to show for it? Barely eking out a futile existence? That not success by any means. That's the epitome of failure! You didn't make great money. Neither did the stars. Common sense tells you it's simply not possible. Again, fatally flawed business model. Devised by idiots. You go on to say it's not the fault of PFS. Wrong. Who else is left? You can't blame the janitor. You know, Jim, success is defined as having money AND a life too. You shouldn't have to give up your family for primerica. Especially when there's no money to be made there anyway. Can you imagine? A company that expects you to give up your family and your marriage for chump change? You'd have to be living in the twilight zone to accept something as ridiculous as that! Your wife sounds smart. Too smart to fall for that primerica nonsense. Who the hell wants to turn a shopping trip into a situation where you need to hassle other shoppers into buying trash they don't want or need? No wonder the woman was embarrassed. It's like you're begging for spare change. Again, loser business model. Hassling strangers in malls? Who in their right mind would possibly think that up? Trust me, you were the only one in primerica with any kind of brains. You claim that PFS was good for its clients. Then, you go on at length to explain they only sell the limited range of products available to them. We're good for people, as long as you need something that we carry. What about when that's not the case? You end up selling them the trash anyway! Is that still good? I don't think so! There's no way in hell your daughter would ever go to Yale on your primerica income. Not unless she told them what you did, and they felt so sorry for her that they offered a full scholarship. Of course you're relieved that you no longer have to pester strangers in the mall! Who wouldn't be? They don't want primerica trash. But most people try to be nice. They stand there and listen to you, instead of telling you to simply move on and hassle someone else. That's demeaning. Having to bother people like that. Did the mall security ever throw you out for doing it? The comments on this site are NOT the ranting of lunatics. Or, pissed off agents from other companies. They are made by people with a firm grasp in reality. People who don't let some dumb f**k recruit them into nonsense where they end up chasing their tails around in circles. Had you been able to come here BEFORE you joined up with this nonsense, you could have saved yourself, and your family a lot of heartache and aggravation. Not to mention, all the extra money you could have earned while working in a REAL job. As for the coveted FNA, it should be renamed as primerica needs analysis. This is what primerica needs. Every time you buy up some of this trash, they pay me $50, so what do you think there, bud? See anything that interests you on here? How about this term thing? Can you please buy something, so I'll have enough for gas next week to continue to hustle this trash off? Do it to help me. It's merely a sales pitch on a computer. That's fine, right up until the time where you choose to present it as an unbiased appraisal of your client's financial needs. The one thing that bothered me most in your story was not the fact that you wasted years of your life on this foolishness. Pissed off your family. Or, screwed around making little or nothing when you should have been out trying to maximize your income. Nope. It's the way you treated the elderly man you recruited. You took the money from the sale of things to his friends. You didn't share s**t with him. No split, even though he was there too. Training him. How the hell's he gonna buy lunch with training? He influenced the sales. They were his friends. Had it not been for that, you would have been relegated to another day of hanging around the mall. You should have split the money with the guy. You use the word mostly. Wrong! It was ALL you. He didn't benefit all. He simply wasted good time and money. At 60 years of age, how much time does he really have left? You f**ked over a nice gentleman with a gentle spirit. Nice. Share that experience with your daughter some day. Catch the dream? You really mean live the daydream don't you? People come here and claim that primerica is this huge, successful company. Huge? No doubt. They sell overpriced trash. They got no sales offices to pay. No phones for clients to call in on. No advertising to support the agents. And, hardly any commissions to pay out. Hell, I'd be rich too if I had 100,000 people out hustling trash. And then, I got to keep all the money for myself. Trust me. That's what will happen to you too if you allow yourself to get sucked into this scam. Just read James' comment. He's smart. If he can't make a living at primerica, what in the hell kind of chance do you have?
Primerica
Indianapolis,#8UPDATE Employee
Sat, June 25, 2005
To my colleague, James in NY,NY: I really enjoyed your heartfelt testimonial. And, I have noticed that comments with rebuttals stay at the top of this site; whereas, those without comments quickly move down. I, therefore, offer this rebuttal to keep your story near the top for a while longer. Primerica is primarily designed as a part-time income. It must be compared to Avon, not to MetLife. Instead of selling cosmetics or plastic kitchen ware, Primerica sells financial products. And, just as we can hear stories of people making a successful living selling Avon fulltime, we must acknowledge that most Avon dealers make occasional sales to friends, neighbors, and other social contacts. This is also how most Primerica sales reps operate too. Partnership is important in Primerica. Alleviating one's spouse of domestic chores was an important element in the partnership workshop at the recent convention in Georgia. By the rep assuming the housework, the spouse is able to work fulltime without the stress of working all night too. I know of no RVP, or below, with whom the spouse is not a significant source of the family income. But, very few families have a single income earner today. Primerica offers a respectable secondary, or part-time income. Too many recruits assume Primerica is a primary income, it was never intended to be. Family is what is to be most important. Primerica allows flexibility to place the family as the rep's priority. Primerica allows you to be there for your children. Primerica represents flexible hours: start when you want; end when you want; work around your family's schedule. Very few companies give you that. Sacrifice for your dreams? Our dream is to live a leisurely life, to enjoy the time we have. Needing money to do anything is unfortunate in our society today. That is the point of each person's concerns. It is a delicate balance between having enough money to live our lives while maximizing our free time to enjoy the life we live. Your goal in striking up conversations with people was not to sell products. It was to make acquaintances. People are animals of habit. We tend to develop routines. Our daily, weekly, and monthly routines bring us into rhythmic contact with others. By buying our groceries at the same place, at the same time each week, we will begin to see others that have the same grocery schedule. We buy gas at the same station, and at the same hour, to become familiar with the same attendant. Rather than being two ships passing in the night, your Primerica training was to teach you to recognize reoccurring faces. This is what, in business, is called networking. As you get to know these acquaintances, they get to know you too. And, when they know someone looking to refinance or begin investing, they can say, I know of someone who can help you. By continually broadening your social circle, you broaden your network of referrals. The goal is not to track down each person needing help; the goal is to disperse into your sphere of influence the knowledge that you are a source of help for others to come to. As for training: The people that you help are not your clients. You have an agency relationship with Primerica. You are Primerica's agent, which makes Primerica you client. The people are your customers. These customers then become Primerica's clients when Primerica represent them as an insurance carrier. But, the people are always your customers, never your clients. Primerica has financial experts that make the real decisions. When a Primerica Rep does an FNA for his customer, he submits the SMART application to the financial experts. The sales rep then reports back to the customer what the results were. Representatives only facilitate the sales; they do not make any important decisions. We do not personally assess a customer's situation to recommend the best suited mutual fund for their particular need. We recommend the mutual fund that Primerica's financial experts have determined is the best options to satisfy the needs of the greatest number of people. Primerica sales reps do not have financial degrees. Primerica sales reps are not Personal Financial Analysts, which requires 24 hours of college credit in finance beyond the undergraduate level; nor are we Certified Financial Advisors or Financial Planners. Primerica sales reps are customer services representatives that provide basic explanations of the various products that are available through the Primerica outlet. Field training teaches the recruit recognized sales techniques and familiarizes the recruit with our line of products. Nothing at Primerica teaches the rep how to analyze risk to determine a note's interest rate. Nor is anyone trained to determine which stocks and bonds would make up the best portfolio for an individual's needs. No Primerica rep is ever taught how to explain to their customer how to diversify their portfolios with funds, real estate, and other investments. Most Primerica reps do not even know what alternative investments are available. They are only taught what to say about their product offering. Primerica reps are not financial decision makers. The FNA is designed to provide a game plan that is based on statistical probabilities [the law of large numbers]. It is a sales tool. The real financial coach is the designer of the FNA; who says, Under this circumstance do this; under that circumstance do that. Primerica reps are the cheerleaders that encourage the players, your customers, to do as the absent coach determined the right move would be in any given circumstance. Our society is highly segmented. Marketing is designed to segment the market into workable parts. Yes, Primerica is designed for a specific segment of society. And, the Primerica training teaches its recruits how to identify that segment. So, what would be the point of wandering the malls to harass everyone you come in contact with? Potential customers must be qualified. Primerica offers very good products for the average middle-class family experiencing the average life situations. This is a very large segment that is easily tapped into. Primerica offers Citigroup an inexpensive way of tapping into a market that was overlooked in the past. The costs of personal service was quite high in the past. Real financial analysts have to focus on wealthy clients. Computers revolutionized finance. Now cost effective instruments can be marketed to people with less money. Financial services do not have to make as much on any one customer. You seem to embrace the notion that you are a regional leader. You have not resigned; you simply chose to become dormant. I would encourage you to return to your old base shop if you current occupation is now stable. You can enjoy the experience on a part time basis without feeling pressured. You can enjoy the status without the anxiety. We have witnessed banks opening up in grocery stores for several years now. The internet is a prime source to purchase term-life today. Everything is becoming individual focused. And, finance is becoming an in-house opportunity. If you and your spouse work in businesses that are not insurance or finance, then all you need to do is let your co-workers know what you do part-time. They will eventually refer people to you, and you will have the part-time business that Primerica was designed to be.